Wildlife National Parks
Bandhavgarh has a very deep-rooted importance of it's own in the history and
mythology of India. Looming high over the entire park and located in the heart
of it's core area, is a fort dating back to the mythological era of Rama and
Hanuman from the Hindu epic Ramayana.
The Bandipur National Park is covered with a mix of deciduous forests, evergreen
forests and scrub, which is provided by the waters of the Moyar River. The major
types of fauna in this reserve are the Asian elephant, gaur, sambhar, chital,
mouse deer, four horned antelope, wild pig, black naped hare and the Indian
porcupine. Apart from being home to the Asiatic elephant, Bandipur also has
a large number of tigers, which count around 66 in number. The scrub jungles
consist of stunted trees, bushes and open grassy patches. In the northwestern
area, the vegetation contains the open dry deciduous forests to tropical mixed
deciduous forests.
The name 'Keoladeo' is derived from the name of an ancient Hindu temple devoted
to Lord Shiva in the sanctuary's central zone while the Hindi term 'Ghana' implies
dense, thick areas of forest cover. The coverage area of this national park
is 29 sq-kms. One of the finest bird parks in the world, Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary
(Keoladeo Ghana or Bharatpur National Park) is a reserve that offers protection
to faunal species as well. Nesting indigenous water- birds as well as migratory
water birds and waterside birds, this sanctuary is also inhabited by Sambar,
Chital, Nilgai and Boar.
Corbett National Park is one of the best wildlife reserves in Asia, famous for
its wide variety of wildlife and its beautiful location. The highlight of any
visit is an elephant safari into the jungles and grasslands looking for tiger
or a herd of wild elephants. Spread over 520 sq km Corbett is characterised
by dense forest interspersed with broad open grasslands (called "chaurs")
and the ever present river Ramganga, winding its sinous way through the sanctuary
- ideal country for the tiger and its natural prey.
The park even has it's own mentor and ardent supporter in the form of Billy
Arjan Singh, most famous for his hand rearing, and then releasing in the wild,
of a tiger cub named Tara. Dudhwa National Park has pioneered in projects such
as the relocation of rhinos into it from the Pabitara Wild Life Sanctuary in
Assam to enhance the survival chances of the highly endangered animal. This
was done under the watchful eye of the director of the park at the time, Dr.
Ashok Singh, who later took over the same position at Corbett National Park.
The Gir forest covers an area of 1150 square kilometers with 300 square kilometers
forming the core area of the national park. The park receives a good annual
rainfall averaging 1000mm. The temperatures at the park vary to extremes, as
they do with most of the country too. In winters, the temperatures go down to
as low as 6 degrees centigrade, while soaring up to a scorching 46 degrees in
the summers.
Located in the southern state of India, Kerala, Idukki National Park is one
of Kerala's finest havens for wildlife and is home to vast herds of Elephants,
bisons, bear, wild boars, sambar wild dogs, jungle cats, tiger, wild boar and
has a very large concentration of various species of snakes including cobra,
viper, kraits and numerous non-poisonous ones.
The central Kanha valley was declared a sanctuary way back in 1933 but got it's
status as a National Park in 1955. It covers a large area of 1,945 square kilometers,
out of which 940 square kilometers form the main park. The altitude of the park
ranges from 450 meters to 900 meters above sea level. The temperature, depending
on the season, ranges from 0 degrees in the winters to 48 degrees in the summers.
The park remains open from the 01st of November to the 30th of June. Sometimes,
as with most parks of the country, it can be closed earlier if the monsoon season
arrives sooner than expected. The park has a heavy monsoon season with an average
annual rainfall of 1600mm. The basic infrastructure at the park is well developed
and visits can "mostly" be expected to pass without any problems.
Manas National Park was established as the core of the Manas Tiger Reserve from
April 1973 and elevated to the position of a Manas National Park status on September
7, 1990. It was accorded the status of World Heritage Site in 1985 for its rare
wealth of endangered species. The park extends over the national boundary to
Bhutan where it is known as the Royal Manas National Park.
Situated in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh at a distance of around
57 km from Khajuraho is the Panna National Park. The region, which is famous
for its diamonds, is also home to some of the best wildlife species in India
and is one of the better Tiger Reserves in the country.
The park covers an area of 292.85 sq km but if combined with the neighbouring
forest area of the Mowgli Pench wildlife Sanctuary (118.31 sq km) and the buffer
zone (346.73 sq km), they total up to an area of 757.89 sq km to form what is
known as the Pench Tiger Reserve. It was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1977
and it got its status of a National Park in 1983.
Periyar National Park is situated in the hills of the Western Ghats in the state
of Kerala in SW India.The centrepiece of the park is the 5,500-hectare Periyar
lake formed by the construction of a dam on the Periyar river in 1895. The dam
submerged low-lying forest whose dead treetrunks still jut out of the waters.
Along the fringes of the lake are marshy areas with tall grasslands.
The Ranthambore National Park was the hunting ground of Maharajah of Jaipur.
In 1955, it was declared a game sanctuary; in 1980, it became a national park.
But with the commissioning of Project Tiger in 1972, it was included in the
project. With the addition of neighboring Keladevi and Mansingh sanctuaries,
the total area of the national park stands at 1,334 sq km. But the entire park
- the core area is just 392 sq kms - is not open to the public. The Ranthambore
Park is set between the Aravalli and Vindhya ranges. Its deciduous forests were
once a part of the magnificent jungles of Central India. The terrain is rugged
and there are rocky ridges, hills and open valleys with lakes and pools.
The Sundarbans is formed by an alluvial archipelago of 54 islands, made by the
waters of Ganges, Brahmaputra and the Bay of Bengal. The Sundarban National
Park got its name from the Sundari trees found here in abundance. Sundarbans'
also shares its boundaries with the Sajnekhali Bird Sanctuary.
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